Features
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By Paul Zollo |
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ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year SCOTT STORCH Defies Formulas and Flies Up the Charts.
It's past midnight in Miami, and hitmaker/ producer/ songwriter Scott Storch is just arriving at the Hit Factory recording studio to start his workday. He's clearly a committed night owl, and while his late hours might not suit all of the artists he's produced, they're more than willing to work into the wee hours to instill his magic touch into their music. He's written and/or produced hit records for a wide-array of musicians, including The Roots, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, Terror Squad, Gwen Stefani, Ja Rule, Snoop Dogg, Beyonce and Justin Timberlake. It's his prodigious penchant for creating powerful keyboard parts that first launched his career, and led him ultimately to become a hit producer and a songwriter who was awarded ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year for 2005. We spoke in the midst of this typically late-night recording session, during which he took time out to fit in a brief conversation about his past, present and future.
He grew up in the suburbs of South Florida and Philly, and was introduced to Rap music by his elder brother, who gave him an Eazy-E album. As a self-taught pianist, he realized he could make a career out of music when he played the piano for five minutes at a friend's house, and received $200 for his music from his friend's father.
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| • | "Run It" by Chris Brown |
| • | "Lighters Up" by Lil' Kim |
| • | "Turn it Up" by Chamillionaire
& Lil' Flip |
| • | "Just a Lil' Bit" by 50 Cent |
| • | "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent
& Olivia |
| • | "Get It Poppin'" by Fat Joe
& Nelly |
| • | "Let Me Love You" by Mario |
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He dropped out of school in the 9th grade, and subsequently launched his career by playing keyboard on records by many Philadelphia acts, including Schooly D's 1994 album Welcome to America and G. Love & Special Sauce's 1994 eponymously titled debut. But it was his keyboard work with the Roots that put him on the map. He went on the road with them, and played on their 1993 album Organix, which propelled them to a major record deal.
"That was a cool time," he remembered, "because we were innovating in music. [The Roots] were the first band, technically, to be marketed as a hip-hop band. That's where I got a lot of my medals and war-wounds, from going on the road, and really learning the experience of being a musician. Being in a band is like a marriage in itself. It's not easy. But you can learn a lot about music and you can apply that to being a producer."
His work with the Roots led to gigs with other musicians, most notably the legendary rapper Dr. Dre, for whom he added a haunting keyboard riff on the hit single from Dre's comeback album Still D.R.E. His collaboration with Dre continues to this day. "[Dre] has been sort of like a university of music for me," Storch said. "I learned a lot of really incredible techniques and production things from him. It was definitely an honor to be part of his team. I idolize him as a producer, and it was cool to be part of the reinvention of the California sound." Working with Dre launched him into the major leagues of music, a trajectory which has grown increasingly richer with the passing of time.
Though he laughed heartily when asked about it, he's a white Jewish man working in a predominantly black genre. In the past he's called himself "The Meyer Lansky of Hip Hop." During our conversation, he exclaimed, "I'm looking in the mirror ‚ you're right! I'm white. Hey, I'm white!! What do you know about that?" He then added that being white has not held him back in any way, despite the competitive nature of rap and hip-hop, because he has the necessary chops to create hot records.
Being named ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year for 2005 meant a lot to him. "It meant I had a lot of luck that year," he said. "It meant that I tried to seize the day and make the most of the opportunities that came my way, to make the best records I could make." One of the keys to his success is that he doesn't draw any distinction between songwriting and producing. To him, a song is a record, and vice versa: "I typically write while producing. I write the music while making the track. I'm not a lyricist."
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'Lean Back' [by Terror Squad, produced by Storch] was a big hit, and created a big dance craze, and it has none of the characteristics of your conventional pop record. It has a hot hook and a hot beat, but it's a hard-core rap record.
— Scott Storch
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Working with Beyonce was "amazing," he said. "She's a true talent. It was effortless working with her. It was a great experience in recording. You can't turn magic on like a light-bulb. Sometimes the vibe propels the session. We got a lot out of the vibe she created. We made three songs and they all became singles, so we were very lucky."
Asked what the qualities of a great pop song are, he answered, "Ultimately it's all about a memorable hook. And a hot beat. Pop music isn't really the same thing for me anymore that it used to be. Pop music is anything that can become popular. 'Lean Back' [by Terror Squad, produced by Storch] was a big hit, and created a big dance craze, and it has none of the characteristics of your conventional pop record. It has a hot hook and a hot beat, but it's a hard-core rap record. It's not what pop has been defined as over the years."
His pursuit of a "hot beat" over the years has brought him to a new understanding of rhythm, and its potential to propel a record. "I've learned that a hot beat can be anything," he said. "The whole thing is to not have a formula, and try to break ground; to go out on a limb. You don't know when it's gonna work and when it doesn't. But when it sounds hot, you know it's hot."
His future is bright; he has upcoming projects in the works with a rainbow of artists, including Eminem, Quincy Jones, Busta Rhymes, and the duo of Ricky Martin and Fat Joe. "I'm excited about the future," he said happily. "I love music, and I'm making a good living working with artists I love. It's a great gig."
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